Metal injection molding (MIM) is a metalworking process useful in creating a variety of metal objects. A mixture of a powdered metal material and a binder material (e.g., a polymer such as polypropylene) that may be a single binder or multiple binders and forms a “feedstock” (also referred to as a build material) capable of being molded, at a high temperature, into the shape of a desired object. The initial molded part, also referred to as a “green part,” then undergoes a debinding process to remove the primary binder, followed by a sintering process. During sintering, the part is brought to a temperature near a melting point of the powdered metal material which evaporates any remaining binder material and forms the metal powder material into a solid mass, thereby producing the desired object.
Additive manufacturing, also referred to as three-dimensional (3D) printing, includes a variety of techniques for manufacturing a 3D object via an automated process of forming successive layers of the 3D object. An additive manufacturing system (also referred to as a 3D printing system) may utilize a feedstock comparable to that used in MIM, thereby creating the green part without the need for a mold. In the 3D printing system, the green part may then undergo debinding or sintering processes, or a combination thereof, to produce the desired object.